Located at the top of the town a few minutes walk from the main square and market area, Snow Lion Homestay is a very good choice for the budget traveller in Darjeeling. It doesn't look promising as you head up Gandhi road past the stray dogs and open rubbish tip in the street (I still hate that), but it's worth the walk.

Snow Lion operates more as a cross between a hotel and a homestay. The guest rooms are on the first and second floors, and those on the front of the property have views of Kangchenjunga (if you are lucky with the weather). In late October our room was decidedly chilly (the hotel is uninsulated and drafty) and the hot water heater for the shower only provided a few minutes' warmth, awkward if there are two of you. Breakfast is taken on the third floor where the family live, which can be a very nice experience. The family are friendly and care for their guests well but maintain a certain distance at the same time. One of the highlights of the hotel is the reading room next to reception, where there's a good bookshelf and comfy chairs. You can order tea and coffee here and while away a few hours.

We visited during Diwali and this caused no end of frustration as the holidays disrupted regular opening hours for most businesses. Here is where an efficient reception service could have been a godsend but unfortunately the Snowlion (which offers to book tours for you) fell into the same category as many Indian customer service experiences, and failed to show any initiative. So we were sent on a wild goose chase for our Sikkim permits to a government office which was closed and booked a tour to a tea plantation which was also closed. In both cases a simple phonecall beforehand would have saved us a lot of time and frustration. We were also told by the receptionist that the toy train was not running - good job we went and checked, because it was.

In short, a nice establishment that could be a real gem if they sorted their tour services out.